A Materra cotton farmer picks regenerative cotton in a field

What is Regenerative Agriculture and how do you define it?

Regenerative agriculture is a system of principles and farming practices rooted in a relational rather than extractive way of viewing the land and farmers.

Mari Stuart

Regenerative agriculture is a system of principles and farming practices rooted in a relational rather than extractive way of viewing the land and farmers. It enhances the vitality of the whole farm ecosystem, building its capacity to evolve, renew, and to regenerate the resources it needs to thrive and restore what has been degraded. A key aspect of regenerative cotton farming is that farmers are supported and incentivized to adopt the growing practices that promote this overall system health.

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Regenerative agriculture is about relationships.

Regenerative agriculture is most fundamentally about how we see our relationship to the physical world on which we depend for our sustenance. It is an ecological worldview: seeing the world not as a storehouse of resources to be extracted, but as a web of reciprocal relationships and complex dynamics that supports all forms of life, including human life.

Regenerative agriculture is a system of principles and farming practices rooted in this perspective, with the goal of enhancing the vitality of the whole (farm) (eco)system and build its capacity to evolve, renew, and to regenerate the resources it needs to thrive.

These principles and practices draw on traditional agroecological and Indigenous knowledge systems and are validated by modern scientific research. While the principles are universally applicable, the specific appropriate practices are place-based and context-specific.

In our work with smallholder farmers in India, regeneration begins with the same principles that guide Materra at a company level: a holistic consideration of whole-system health, maximising diversity, fostering relationships and trust, evolving the capacity of all stakeholders, and respecting place-based and traditional knowledge while at the same time being innovative, forward-looking, and open to change.

This outlook then guides land management decisions and practices. In the context where we work, with smallholder farmers in India, the relevant practices include intercropping, cover cropping, leguminous crops, mulching, minimising tillage, encouraging pollinators and other biodiversity, water-conserving strategies, and incorporating livestock and bio-based inputs.

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Managing the land regeneratively in this way yields many beneficial outcomes, including increasing soil organic matter and biodiversity, sequestering carbon, improving water retention and water quality, and reducing reliance on energy-intensive external inputs.

But regenerative farming and agriculture goes beyond practices and outcomes. Crucially, it centres farmers as partners and ensures adequate compensation and risk-sharing mechanisms for farmers who are making the transition to regenerative.

Regeneration is not a flip of a switch: it’s a process and a journey that takes time and a long-term commitment. Farmers need financial and implementation support, especially in the critical first years of their transition. They need to be met where they are at, and incremental, gradual progress must be celebrated and rewarded.

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